Saturday, December
13, 2014, 9:47 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “You Are My All in All.” Speak, Lord,
your words to my heart. I read Psalm 1
(ESV).
Blessed
is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor
stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but
his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He
is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that
yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In
all that he does, he prospers.
The
wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives
away.
Therefore
the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the
righteous;
for
the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Happy Are You
We are joyful, contented, peaceful, fulfilled and filled up
to overflowing with all the spiritual blessings God has for us, his people,
when we find our purpose for life and our fulfillment in him and in him alone.
We have this wonderful peace and joy which comes only from God, which is beyond
human comprehension, when we don’t live our lives according to the ungodly
counsel of the wicked, when we don’t publicly declare adherence to, opinion or
support of what is sinful, and when we don’t act in accordance with those who
are scoffers, but instead our delight is in Christ’s commandments (his word),
and we meditate on that word day and night. So, in all practicality, what
should this look like?
Bad Counsel
In what ways might we be walking in the counsel of the
wicked? Who are the wicked? And, can Christians give out wicked counsel?
Wicked is sinful, evil, and immoral. It is what is contrary
to the teachings (instructions) of Christ and of his apostles. When we sin, we
disobey God and his word. Since, as Christians, we still have the propensity to
sin, even though made righteous through the blood of Christ shed on the cross
for our sins, we can still behave wickedly when we sin against God. And, thus,
Christians can also give out advice that is contrary to the teachings of
Christ. That is why we need to test everything we hear against the standard of
the Word of God.
They may not advise us to murder someone, but they may lead
us to gossip about and to treat others with disdain who “don’t fit” in with
today’s culture. They may not advise us to commit adultery, but they may
encourage us to watch movies or TV shows where sexual promiscuity is served up
for us on a platter for our entertainment and enjoyment. They might not counsel
us to steal from our neighbors, but they may lead us to steal from God, i.e. to
not give him the honor, respect, value, adherence and obedience he so deserves.
So, we need to check out what advice (counsel) or teaching
we receive to make sure it is consistent with the divine character of God and
with the teachings of his word, and we need to not live according to counsel
that is in direct contradiction to the teachings of Christ.
A Stand
When we take a stand on something, we declare our opinion,
belief or support of it, or we declare that we are against it. So, we need to
watch closely what we are standing on or what we are supporting, especially in
public, to make sure that it lines up with Biblical principles and the
teachings of Christ and that of the apostles.
For instance, so many Christians take stands for or against
certain political candidates or political parties. Yet, does the Word of God
teach us that we are to do this? Are we to stand with and support those who are
ungodly? What does the Word say about that? It tells us right here we are to
not. Can we even be sure that what we are standing on is the truth? So much of
what is told in the news, for instance, I believe is fiction, for the purpose
to entertain and distract people, to get them off course, to get them riled up,
in some cases, and to pit them one against another, in many other instances.
As well, the modern church here in America may try to get
you to support and to stand with them in what they are doing, and what they are
doing may not look anything like what God had designed for his church. They may
try to get you to buy into their watered-down gospel and to take your stand on
that, but check out what they are teaching you. Make sure it lines up with what
the apostles taught, and read scriptures in context, too. Too many false
beliefs come from people taking scripture out of context to make it say what
they want it to say.
The Scoffers
To scoff means: “to express derision or scorn about somebody
or something” (Encarta). It means to show contempt, disrespect, ridicule or
mockery. Mockery can mean: “to imitate somebody in a way that is intended to
make that person appear silly or ridiculous” (Encarta). This type of behavior
and attitude is unchristian, and should not be something any of us should be
involved in, and yet it permeates our society and the stuff people watch on TV,
and it has even worked its way into the church and into church meetings, and it
finds much humor in making fun of those who are different from us, and all for
our entertainment and enjoyment. We should not participate in this in any way,
shape or form, either by doing it ourselves, or by allowing ourselves to be
entertained by it.
Our Delight
So many who call themselves Christians here in America have
so adopted the ways of this sinful world into their lives, partly due to the
influence of TV, movies, music, the internet, and the like, that they are
living their lives by worldly and ungodly advice, they are standing on and are
supporting what is not of God and is contrary to his word, and they are joining
in with those who make fun of others for their own entertainment and enjoyment.
I believe it is because they spend so much time taking in the thinking and
philosophies of this sinful world and so little time with God, sitting at his
feet, listening to him speak, and then obeying what he tells them.
Our enjoyment and pleasure should not be in all these
worldly things, though, but it should be in the word of God on which we should
meditate throughout the day and even while we sleep. By meditating, I don’t
believe this means we just recite scriptures in our heads, but we truly ponder
them and their meanings, not for intellectual stimulation, but for how they are
to be applied to our daily lives, and then we obey what God’s word tells us to
do.
Like a Tree
When we have turned away from following after the ways,
thinking and behaviors of this sinful world, and we have turned to follow our
Lord Jesus Christ, by his grace through faith, and he and his word are now our
delight, then we are like a well-watered tree, firm and steadfast, rooted in
Christ and his word, and dependent on the living water to fill us to
overflowing.
We no longer go to or make our own broken cisterns to find
our joy and satisfaction for life, but we draw on the Spirit of God, his word, and
his peace and joy to give us fulfillment and purpose. And, we follow him in
doing what he has called us to do. We may not prosper financially or according
to the world’s idea of success, but when we are walking by faith in obedience
to Christ and we are doing what he has called us to do, we will be successful, because
what we do we do in the power and working of the Spirit of God within us as we
yield control of our lives over to him, and we allow him to live his life out
through us for his glory. Yet, we may not see the final results until the end.
So, if you find yourself living more like the world and your
happiness coming more from the pleasures this sinful world has to offer, and
you have been neglecting your Lord, his word, and walking daily in his
footsteps, I pray today that you will take this passage of scripture to heart
and that you will, by the grace of God, no longer desire and hunger after what
is sinful and worldly, but that truly your delight will be in God; in Jesus
Christ and in his word.
You Are my All in All / Dennis Jernigan
You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking you as a precious jewel
Lord to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all
Jesus, precious Lamb of God
Worthy is your name (2x)
Taking my sin my cross my shame
Rising again I praise your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down you pick me up
When I run dry you fill my cup
You are my all in all
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